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A Date with the Health Inspector
"A Date with the Health Inspector" is the fifth episode of the Adult Swim animated television series, The Boondocks. It originally aired on December 4, 2005. Plot Tom Dubois has a recurring nightmare about being sexually molested in prison. Huey reveals that Tom had lived his entire life with extreme caution due to his fear of being sent to prison and being anally raped. Flashbacks show Tom refusing to help his friend steal merchandise at a department store, declining to smoke marijuana in high school. He even deleted illegally downloaded MP3 files from his wife's computer, and driving the speed limit. Arrested for fitting the description of the "Xbox Killer," Tom uses his prison phone call to get in touch with Huey. Riley answers, however, and bursts into laughter at the thought of the excessively scrupulous Tom DuBois being arrested. He advises him not to drop the soap and hangs up. Fortunately, Tom is able to call back and speak to Huey, explaining his situation and begging him to find the real killer before 9:00 that evening, because at nine, Tom is to be transported from holding to "real jail" for the weekend and the earliest he could be released would be Monday. Huey decides to enlist the help of Ed Wuncler III, who eagerly agrees to help. They also ally with Ed's friend, Gin Rummy, a fellow Iraq War soldier and psychopath. Huey, Riley, Ed, and Rummy go to the street where the murder occurred. While Ed and Rummy's psychotic behavior and ambush of black men gains them nothing, the boys obtain MapQuest directions to the murderer's residence and a sketch drawing simply through witness' descriptions. The four drive away, but Ed and Rummy decide to take a brief detour to a gas station for a drink. Ed and Rummy hand Riley two cases of beer to take out to the car, prompting the Arab clerk (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) behind the counter to gently insist that they pay for it first. At this point, Ed and Rummy draw their guns and claim that the clerk has a weapon. A police officer (voiced by James Arnold Taylor), who had been perusing a magazine, anxiously draws his gun and tries to get a handle on the situation. Ed and Rummy insist to the officer that the clerk has a weapon and the clerk continues to assert that he's not holding one. The cop starts to shake uneasily, unsure of whom to believe. Huey pleads with the officer, firmly contending that the clerk doesn't have a gun, but Rummy shouts him down. Ed then coerces the police officer into aiding him by pointing one of his guns at the officer and asking, "Who's side you on?" Rummy then gives the petrified clerk to the count of three to hand over his weapon, but the chance is blown and Rummy opens fire. The sound of gunfire gets the attention of the clerk's co-workers, who come out from the back room and start firing their own guns thinking their store is being robbed and their co-worker is in danger of being murdered. Rummy and Ed take cover and Huey reprimands Rummy for deviating from the original plan of finding the Xbox Killer. The cop is wounded by Ed and Rummy's trigger happy gunfire, and the clerk's co-workers toss him a gun to defend himself with. Eventually the smoke clears, and the clerk and his co-workers are taken away in handcuffs while Ed and Rummy are hailed as terrorism-fighting heroes by the gathered crowd. Meanwhile, time runs out for Tom, who is led outside from his cell only to discover that he is being released. Apparently, the Xbox Killer struck again and was arrested, thereby vindicating Tom. Had Ed and Rummy not detoured from their original course and nearly caused fatal havoc in their attempt to rob the store, they could have stopped the second killing. The next day's newspaper headline read "War Heroes Thwart Terror Cell," referring to Ed and Rummy's robbery of the convenience store. Also reported is the capture of the real Xbox killer, who's Tom didn't match the description which the police claimed, and Tom's reunion with his daughter. Tom intends to sue the police for the wrongful arrest; as its now proven that the police simply arrested him because he was black, which is the only thing they looked for (not even how dark or light the killer was.) Trivia * This is the only episode in which Robert Freeman makes no visual appearance. * The episode is most likely a parody of the War on Terror: ** The Xbox Killer symbolizes al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden, and Ed and Rummy symbolize (and the characters themselves based on) former United States President George W. Bush and his Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfield. ** Because they "fit the description" of the Xbox Killer as African Americans, Tom and the black men that were harassed by Ed and Rummy symbolize Arab and Muslim Americans, who have been discriminated against and persecuted by the U.S. government due to being associated with terrorism. ** The diversion to the gas station represents the Iraq War, with the gas station owner representing Saddam Hussein. During the robbery, Ed and Rummy keep telling the gas station owner to put down a non-existent gun. They also repeatedly warn the police officer in the gas station that the owner has a gun until the officer is actually convinced to believe that he sees the imaginary gun. This situation is a reference to the U.S.'s invasion of Iraq in search of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). The "gun" represents WMDs and the police officer represents the United Nations who is persuaded by Ed and Rummy (the U.S. government) of the existence of a gun (WMDs). ** The drinks that Ed and Rummy try to rob from the store represent the oil that was the basis of a dispute between Iraq and Kuwait at the time. Oil is widely believed to be one of the U.S.'s primary reasons for getting involved in Iraq. ** The gas station owner at one point says to the men robbing him, "Ed, your father helped me build this store," referring to George Bush Sr.'s support of Saddam Hussein during the 1980's, including funding and support during the Iran-Iraq War. ** Ed pointing a gun at the officer and telling him "Who's side you on? Mine or this motherfucker who's obviously of terroristic descent" refers to George W. Bush rallying the American public to war with a "our side or their side" mindset. ** The gas station clerk at one point states "You thinking of the Korean shop! Not of here!" refers to North Korea actually possessing WMDs, but being ignored by the US in favor of Iraq's alleged WMDs. ** Huey argues with Ed and Rummy about how the trip to the gas station is an unnecessary distraction on their way to the house of the Xbox Killer, further referencing the controversy of the War in Iraq in regard to the War on Terror. ** Rummy's surprise when the other gas station workers retaliate with return fire is a reference to the U.S.'s surprise with the unexpected insurgency in Iraq. ** Huey states that the robbery had nothing to do with the original plan, to which Rummy responds, "you cannot criticize a robbery during the actual robbery, you have to wait 'til the robbery is over." This is a reference to the Iraq War taking precedence over the war in Afghanistan and related protests. ** The police officer being shot down and being told "You will not die in vain" by Rummy, then "You were not mortally wounded in vain" is symbolic of both the casualties from 9/11 and the Iraq War, with the U.S. government blowing the 9/11 attacks way out of proportion, and telling both their soldiers and the public that the conflict is all for a good cause, despite the frivolity of it. Rummy getting the officer's name wrong and being very dismissive of it is meant to portray the perceived lack of concern from the U.S. government on the troops in Iraq and the casualties of 9/11 and the War on Terror. When the police officer states that he will be okay, this is representative of the U.S. beginning to recover from the attacks, with Ed shouting "Freddie ain't dead, Freddie say bring it on bitch!" before opening fire again meant to portray the U.S. government using the recovering U.S. as a gung-ho excuse to provoke further fighting, which resulted in further casualties in Iraq for several years, symbolized by the officer being shot down once again. * When they enter the store at the gas station, Rummy tells Ed, "I gotcha back, you watch my front." This is could be a reference to the song "I Gotcha Back" by GZA. The chorus of the song includes the line: "I gotcha back but ya best to watch ya front." This also references a line from the song "Shook Ones, Pt. 2" by rap group Mobb Deep, in which it is used ad-lib by Prodigy. * During breakfast at Rummy's house, Ed states "let me get some links with them grits, shi' I'm 's hungry as a motherfucker!" This is a reference to a conversation between A-Wax (played by MC Eiht) and Chauncy (played by Clifton Powell) in the film Menace II Society. * Ed says, "Freddy ain't dead", which references the Curis Mayfield song, "Freddie's Dead". This song is heard in a previous Boondocks episode, "Guess Hoe's Coming to Dinner" at the appearance of A Pimp Named Slickback. * Rummy and Riley have a verbatim conversation from the film Pulp Fiction. Samuel L. Jackson reprises his own famous conversation from the beginning of the movie when Riley repeatedly says, "What?" in response to Rummy's statements about "known-knowns, known-unknowns, and unknown-unknowns." In Pulp Fiction, nearly the exact same conversation takes place when Jules (Jackson's character) asks a man to describe his boss. Another reference to the film is when Rummy comments on how he would like a "tasty beverage." * Tom's first flashback, ColecoVision can be seen connected to his television and an Optimus Prime action figure can be seen in the background. * During the shootout in the store, Gin makes a reference to Monty Python and The Holy Grail when he tells the police officer: "You shall not have died in vain!" followed by "You shall not have been mortally wounded in vain!" This exchange is taken from the scene in the film where Lancelot storms a castle in a murderous rampage after his comrade Concord is shot with an arrow. Gallery A Date with the Health Inspector soap.jpg Health Inspector.png Health_Inspector.jpg Tom and the Health Inspector.png A Date With The Health Inspector 1.png Riley_and_Rummy_2.jpg A Date With The Health Inspector 4A.png A Date With The Health Inspector 5.png A Date With The Health Inspector 6.png A Date With The Health Inspector 10.png Category:Episodes Category:Season 1 Category:Episodes with Tom DuBois Category:Episodes with Huey Freeman Category:Episodes with Riley Freeman Category:Episodes with Ed Wuncler III Category:Episodes with Gin Rummy Category:Episodes with Sarah DuBois Category:Episodes with Jazmine DuBois